"He Was Close"

Joey Helmer

10/25/2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- With Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham sidelined DeMarco Murray is the biggest playmaker on the OU offense, but an ankle injury even forced him out of action against KU. But he was close to be healthy enough to play.

In the Sooners' 35-13 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, they were without an integral part of their running game.

Junior running back DeMarco Murray, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last year, was sidelined with an ankle injury.

While it's not anything serious, OU head coach Bob Stoops simply said Murray wasn't ready to go come game time.

"He [was] close, and he practiced toward the end of the week, but we just didn't feel he's quite where he needed to be," Stoops said. "So I won't be able to tell you anything for awhile."